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Nwankwo
Kanu
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Fulham manager Jean Tigana was today preparing a bid for Arsenal's Nwankwo
Kanu.
The Nigerian striker has become surplus to requirements at Highbury after
the club's summer spending spree and Premiership newcomer Tigana wants to
bring in another front man before the season starts.
Preliminary talks have been held between the two clubs but they are not
believed to be close to agreeing a fee.
Arsenal are seeking around £10 million for Kanu but may be prepared
to lower their valuation in order to complete a sale.
Manager Arsene Wenger has spent more than £26m recruiting Francis
Jeffers from Everton, Giovanni Van Bronckhurst from Rangers and Junichi
Inamoto from Gamba Osaka and the club are keen to recoup some of their
outlay.
The arrival of Jeffers has also increased the already intense competition
for places in the Arsenal front line, with Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp
and Sylvain Wiltord as well as Kanu fighting for places.
Bergkamp and Kanu thought they suffered unfairly from Wenger's striker
rotation policy last season before Jeffers joined and the sale of Kanu
would make life easier for the manager as well as reducing the wage bill.
Tigana has been trying to strengthen his attacking options all summer
and previously targeted West Ham's Frederic Kanoute and Jan Koller when
he was at Anderlecht.
His front line of Louis Saha, Luis Boa Morte and Barry Hayles was formidable
in Division One last term with all three among the top scorers at that
level but Tigana would like to have more depth in his squad.
Boa Morte, who completed a £1.7m move from Southampton to Craven
Cottage this summer after a season on loan, is suspended for the first
three games of the new campaign leaving Fulham short of options. They
play Manchester United at Old Trafford in their first fixture.
Fulham have strengthened their squad in every department other than attack,
spending more than £15m.
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Source Evening Standard by Leo Spall and Steve Stammers